SA Energy Minister expects Eskom to keep the lights during lockdown

South Africa’s Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe, has said power utility firm Eskom is expected to keep the lights on during the nationwide lockdown even though some of its suppliers might scale down production.

Mantashe was speaking at a press briefing in Pretoria to outline measures to mitigate the impact of the lockdown on the minerals and energy sector after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mantashe said the industry also stood ready to help the government with additional beds and quarantine sites should the need arise.

He explained that Eskom would be under less strain during the lockdown due to lower demand for electricity.

“Supplying Eskom with coal is a requirement and we are appreciative of the fact that with a lockdown the demand will be very low, therefore it is unlikely that we will have load-shedding,” he said. “Therefore we don’t have a fear of load-shedding, but we require Eskom not to be in a situation where they cannot supply electricity to society.”

Mantashe said representatives of the mining and energy sectors met to determine how they would operate as part of essential services exempted from the shutdown.